


In Our Garden

by milkfruit



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, rating may be subject to change!!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:40:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28328388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/milkfruit/pseuds/milkfruit
Summary: Dedue owns a flowershop in modern day Faerghus, and Sylvain is a frequent customer.
Relationships: Sylvain Jose Gautier/Dedue Molinaro
Comments: 1
Kudos: 8





	In Our Garden

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! 
> 
> uhhhh my last few fics havent rly been getting views so i thought i should just go back to my roots and write more fire emblem x_x
> 
> hope u like it!!!

That Saturday, rain fell.

Dedue was in the flower shop, Faerghus Greenery, tending to the plants and succulents that grew in the expansive greenhouse. Dedue even grew his own vegetables to sell at the farmer’s market for a little extra cash, or to eat when the yield was particularly bountiful. 

Duscur was a land long gone, but Dedue was one of the sole survivors, and so he opened up this humble flower shop to keep his traditions and culture alive. Many in Faerghus resented the Duscurian people, due to the bad relations between Duscur and Faerghus and the coup against Faerghus’ prime minister not long ago… Dedue had lost his entire family in the war, forced to see his people purged from their homeland, even those that were not part of the revolt. Thinking about it made Dedue melancholy.

The rain reminded him of that day. The day he was pulled away from his family forever in a sick twist of fate.

But there was no use thinking about it, he figured. There was nothing for him to do about it now.

The pitter-patter of raindrops against the windows of the store were therapeutic, helping him work faster and more efficiently. Dedue hummed a little tune to himself as he worked, cutting the stems off the flowers that would be showcased.

Just outside, a beautiful brunette woman was running by the store without an umbrella… Dedue looks blankly out at her, and considers offering her his umbrella since the rain was going from a light drizzle to a downpour, but then a gentleman with striking red hair approaches her quickly, running up to her with his jacket pulled over his own head as if he, too, was without any solid protection from the rain.

Dedue could hear the conversation that ensued.

“Baby, baby, you’re gonna catch a cold like that,” he says, a warm smile and a twinkle in his eye making him look irresistible to any woman who notices. “Here, let me help you,” He puts half the jacket over her head as well, stretching it to meet her hand on the other side.

“Th-Thank you,” she replies, looking grateful as they continue along the sidewalk. 

“I’m Sylvain, by the way. What’s your name, beautiful?”

Dedue narrows his eyes at the two of them, watching them get to the bus stop before looking away, wanting to make sure that guy wasn’t trying anything weird.

He wasn’t, it seems, as he hands the woman a small slip of paper (his number?) before she got on the bus and disappeared from view. The man then starts jogging further down, likely to the apartment complex that wasn’t far off.

Dedue goes back to his work silently, enjoying the quiet for once.

———

It would be a week before a strange coincidence would strike Dedue.

The red-haired man he had seen in the rain not long ago had stopped into Dedue’s shop, the chime of the bell above the door alerting Dedue to his presence. Dedue’s back was turned so he didn’t know it was Sylvain at first, but when Dedue turned around, the man’s appearance seemed… familiar.

Sylvain was well-dressed, well-groomed (although the overpowering smell of his cologne kind of ruined it), and above all, charming. Sylvain smiles at Dedue in a friendly, open way that Dedue would expect from an old friend, not a complete stranger. 

“Good morning,” Sylvain sing-songed, hands in his pockets as he looked up at Dedue, who was about a head taller than Sylvain. Sylvain waited as Dedue placed the pot of soil he was carrying down on a cart beside him, and Dedue greets him with a stoic,

“...Good morning. Can I help you?”

Sylvain took a long look around the greenery, admiring its size and beauty, vines and leaves and fully-grown flowers and budding plants spilling over every shelf and occupying almost every pot.

Dedue said nothing, just waited for Sylvain to finish looking. Sylvain paced a bit, approaching a shelf full of beautiful lilies and taking one into his hand, its delicate petals slotting into Sylvain’s palm almost perfectly.

Sylvain faces Dedue once more, that bright smile still on his face. 

“I was looking to buy an arrangement from you,” Sylvain begins, but he clicks his tongue in defeat before Dedue could ask which one he was interested in. “I just have  _ no clue  _ what one I want,”

Dedue isn’t fazed by this. A  _ lot  _ of customers come in without  _ any  _ basic knowledge of flowers or botany. Which is to be expected; it’s a bit of a niche interest. 

So Dedue starts by approaching Sylvain and touching one of the other lilies beside the one Sylvain was admiring. It was soft, delicate, and beautiful… Its color contrasted Sylvain’s hair and eyes wonderfully. So he made a suggestion.

“You were looking at the lilies here,” Dedue says flatly. “Is this something you’d be interested in?”

Sylvain looks at the lilies with that signature twinkle in his amber eyes.

“I want something  _ romantic…  _ Ya know? Something that’ll say, ‘You’re the only one for me.’”

Sylvain’s sickly-sweet description made Dedue understand a bit more.

“Red roses are the obvious choice, then,” Dedue says, walking over to the rose display and picking one from its place. “They are meant to communicate love and passion.”

Sylvain’s face lights up. Dedue can’t help but smile himself, as he loved talking about flowers and educating others on the language of different flowers. “You could accent them with Baby’s Breath if you want to keep it simple yet sweet,” 

Sylvain reaches out to take the rose from Dedue, which Dedue hands over to him readily. He twirls it in his fingers, humming, before taking his wallet out of his back pocket. “Alright, I’m sold,” Sylvain says, counting his cash as Dedue fetches an appropriate arrangement from the display.

Sylvain hands him a fifty, says “keep the change, big guy” and leaves with the bouquet of red roses and baby’s breath in hand.

———

A week later, Sylvain was back.

Then, another week later, he was back  _ again.  _ He did not buy the same thing every time; in his words, he wanted to “spice it up a little.” Dedue at first thought that Sylvain was a very devoted boyfriend who got flowers for his girlfriend often. But judging by the way he spoke to that girl near the bus stop, and the way he talked to Dedue in an almost flirtatious way — like it’s just what he was  _ used to —  _ made Dedue think twice about that assumption.

He was probably a skirt-chaser.

“Sylvain,” Dedue states simply as Sylvain enters the shop for the second time in a week, a new record for him. “Why is it you come in here so much?”

Sylvain’s chest puffs out a bit like he was taking a deep breath and he blinks slowly at Dedue, gesturing widely as he explains, “What can I say? I’m a pretty popular guy,” and he tops it off with a sly wink.

Dedue just looks sternly at Sylvain, who seems to drop the act for a moment. “Uhh, you’re making a face… Did I say something wrong?”

“That is just your way of saying you’re a philanderer?”

Sylvain puts his hands up in defense of himself. “You wound me, Due. Really.” And when he sees that Dedue was dead serious, he changes his tune a bit. “Okay, so I enjoy being with women. Who doesn’t, right? Can ya really blame me?”

Dedue had to admit, Sylvain was handsome. Not only that, but he seemed to say all the right things and give women these bedroom eyes that Sylvain had pretty much  _ perfected  _ the art of. 

Dedue knew all that.

What he  _ didn’t  _ know was Sylvain’s  _ motive. _ Maybe Sylvain was lonely…? Maybe Sylvain was lonely deep down and needed someone, anyone, to be with…? Of course, this was all conjecture, and really, it was none of Dedue’s business.

Sylvain seemed reluctant to open up, which was to be expected since they were basically just strangers that see each other in passing. Dedue didn’t expect it when Sylvain sighs, admitting candidly, “I don’t like commitment. So I just… kind of… have fun with it,” He shrugs, as if what he was saying was nothing at all. To Sylvain, women were toys. Nothing more.

Dedue raises an eyebrow. “Do the women you date know about those feelings?”

Sylvain bites his lip. “Eh, sometimes. Sometimes not,” He trails off… “A hobby is a hobby, though,”

“Can’t you find a hobby that doesn’t involve breaking women’s hearts every week?”

Sylvain shakes his head, looking to the floor. He looked… defeated. Like Dedue didn’t understand the situation Sylvain was in. And, to be fair, Dedue  _ didn’t  _ understand. But he was starting to.

Dedue took pity on Sylvain, sympathizing with him, even. Dedue was never particularly self-destructive, but the way Sylvain was so  _ practiced  _ at what he did spoke of repeated years of self-sabotage and self-hatred.

Dedue really didn’t know what to say. 

Sylvain breaks the silence. “Teach me to understand the language of the flower,” He says and  _ that  _ makes Dedue confusedly look back up, a puzzled look coming across his face.

“...Excuse me?”

“If you teach me how to understand flowers and what they mean, I won’t have to keep asking for your help. On top of that, ladies love a guy who can make conversation about many things, even flowers,”

Dedue seems to mull it over. Dedue didn’t really get anything out of the arrangement, but then again, Dedue was the type of guy to do something for another person without any real incentive. He was just a good man, who did good deeds. And that’s how he intended to stay. But on the other hand, would he  _ really  _ want to help out in Sylvain’s many lewd escapades?

But the way Sylvain looked at him, softened and genuine, spoke of trust. It was a look Dedue couldn’t turn down.

“...Fine. Come by the shop at your leisure, and I will show you all I know.”

“All  _ right!”  _ Sylvain exclaims. “I knew I could count on you, buddy! I’ll see you tomorrow at about five, that’s when I get off work, okay?”

“That is agreeable.”

Sylvain left with a new bouquet that day, and a certain pep in his step that Dedue  _ hoped  _ he wouldn’t come to regret being responsible for.   
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
